The Descendant II: Week Four: Trust

 Lane didn’t know what it was like to get hammered on a friday night but he imagined the feeling he woke up to felt similar to the one he was having at the moment. He woke up in a hotel bed, Alex in the one next to him, and a unmade couch bed in the other room separated by glass. He couldn’t remember the day before after he followed Court with Alex by his side to what seemed to be a town square and now he couldn’t help but wonder where they were.

 Rolling onto his side, Lane glanced over at the stand with a white glow to it. On it, held a note. Rubbing his eyes, Lane reached for the note and put together the mess of letters. ‘Meet me downstairs. -Court.’

 Glancing over at Alex, Lane stretched then went over to her bedside and lightly pushed her. “Alex. We need to meet Court downstairs.” He said, unsuccessfully being able to reach her.

 After ten minutes or shoving at her and rolling her from one side of the bed to the other, Lane decided against making her fall off the bed and allowed her to rest. Switching into a clean pair of clothes, Lane grabbed a key card and closed the door behind him. He didn’t know Alex well enough and certainly didn’t want to get on her bad side. As a hunter, he knew that the time of day was already late although the clocks read ten in the morning, Lane still felt a slight discomfort.

 Reaching the dining room which was still serving breakfast, Lane spotted Court sitting alone picking at a muffin. He wore a new set of clothes and looked fresh except for his eyes which seemed to be dead. Grabbing a small breakfast or bacon and eggs, orange juice, and a yogurt, Lane took the seat in front of Court and unwrapped his plasticware.

 “I tried to get Alex up but-” A shake of Court’s head interrupted Lane.

 “Didn’t need her. That’s why I left the note for you.” Court said, his voice still groggy.

 “Me?” Lane said, head still aching. “Please tell me I’m not the only one going through this.” He muttered, as he pushed the eggs around on his plate.

 “You’re not.” Court sighed. “But it does seem like we have a change in plan.”

 “We had a plan?” Lane asked still uncertain of what happened yesterday.

 “Mind filling me in on what I can’t remember yesterday?” Lane questioned, trying to sound of authority but the ring in his ears prevented his focus.

 “I told you that I had a dream before the prophecy was spoken.” Court said, still picking at his muffin. “What I didn’t tell you is that it had a plan that I was to follow.” He said, waiting for Court to reply. Not receiving one, he continued. “The plan was to head straight for New York but now…” Court sighed. “I don’t exactly know how we’ll get there or what we’re going to do about the situation outside.”

 “Situation?” Lane said, finally looking up from his eggs. “What situation?”

 “Someone lead a cerberus to our hotel doors and it won’t leave unless it had its target.” He said, not meeting Lane’s eyes.

 “You’re the target?” Lane asked, somehow not surprised by the call.

 “No.” Lane said pushing away what was left of his muffin. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t bring you into this.” He said, his arms crossed.

 “Then who?” Lane asked, glancing in the direction of the hotel entrance.

 “Alex is.” Court replied, allowing Lane to process his words.

 “Is that why I couldn’t get her up? You did something to her to make sure she didn’t get down here?” Lane questioned.

 “Yes.” Court sighed. “She won’t wake up until I tell her to. It’s a sleep drug () showed me. She only wakes to the one who gave her the drug.”

 “Well that doesn’t sound peaceful household like.” Lane said in amazement. “How do you think we should get rid of it?”  

 “The Cerberus is waiting patiently at the door. Either something is preventing it from coming in or stopping us from getting out, I haven’t exactly figured out which but all I know is that Alex is in trouble and it’s taking a toll on me to do what I can to save her.” He sighed.

 “You’re using magic.” Lane stated in confusion. “Did you learn that from Hazel or?”

 “A man can learn many things.” Court sighed. “This isn’t one of them.”

 “Why is it that I’m having a hard time believing you.” Lane frowned, chugging down his orange juice and pocketing his yogurt.

 “Because. I haven’t been clear this whole time but trust me, Lane, that Cerberus is here to kill her and it doesn’t matter to it who it kills on the way now are you going to help me or not?”

 Anger filled Lane’s stomach, something had washed over him and Court seemed to be the target. Taking off his metal bracelet, Lane gripped it, materializing a boy and a quiver of arrows in his hand. Drawing back the string, Lane growled.

 “The truth, Court. Or I won’t hesitate to another second to kill you.”

 “I’d like to see you kill me, Dolas.” Court smirked, eyes glowing a golden color.

 Lane laughed, a deeper darker laugh than normal. Meeting Court’s golden eyes were a purple haze. “The boy had no idea does he?” Dolas smirked.

 “If that were half true, I wouldn’t be in this mess.” Court growled. “Now do something about the Cerberus.” He ordered.

 “Your mother may be able to command me, but you cannot.” Dolas laughed again.

 “I was told you were better at this than most her disciples so now, Court,” Dolas grinned. “Prove it, by playing my game.”

 Stepping back into the darkness, Court reappeared behind Lane’s body and held a knife to his throat.

 “This isn’t funny, Dolas.” He hissed.

 “Oh but it is!” Dolas hissed back. “You can save one of two friends. If they’re you’re friends anyway.” He smiled. “I know you may not care for them but your camp might be upsetting finding out that you killed them.”

 Court released his grip on the knife. “And how do you suppose you’ll kill Lane if I save Alex?” He questioned, reappearing in front of Lane’s body.

 “Common suicide tricks are fun. Then I’ll leave his body as soon as it drops.” Dolas smiled.

 “There’s a way for you to save them both but that won’t be any fun.” Dolas grinned, making Lane hold his own knife to his throat.

 “Now choose.” Dolas grinned.

 Huffing, Court stood silent. He had to calculate how quickly he could stop the Cerberus from reaching Alex on the top floor. Lane was an easy fix.

 Deception. Court thought to himself. There wasn’t much energy left in what wall Court had mustered to stop the Cerberus. If he let it down for a moment he could save Lane. Frustrated, Court met Lane’s eyes.

 “Leave him.” Court said, eyes glowing golden. Confused, another voice emerged from Lane.

 “I don’t suppose that’s-”

 “Leave him.” Court hissed. Eyes, flashing gold then back to purple, Court sighed.

 “I see, so that’s your choice.” Dolas’s voice emerged from a different mortal.

 Feeling his energy fade, Court grunted. “Alex.” He said grabbing Lane then stepping into the darkness and emerging into the hotel room.

 Scared, Lane brough his arm away from his neck. “Court…?” He said, baffled as to how they went from the dining room to the hotel room.

 “Cerberus.” Court struggled to say before weakly uttering Alex’s name.

The Descendant II: Week Three: Justice Girl

 Martin tried to be persuasive. There was no point in lying to this Elli girl but at the same time, how much could he tell her? All his life he had been running. The fact that he finally got rest on a bed was a change. But, she kept going on about memories and how they weren’t unwinding. Now what could that mean?

 Elli didn’t seem like a bad person. At least, not in Martin’s book of living on the streets of New York since twelve but he also knew that not everyone seemed as they appeared. In fact, Elli could be one of those monsters he had run into and ran away from for most of his life. As Martin thought, Elli starred as if trying to read his thoughts, or at least tell if he was lying. Finally, Martin spoke up.

 “You keep talking about memories, lying, and what not so why don’t we start with the simple?” He asked knowing that he was taking his chance. “Like. I don’t know.” He shrugged. “My name is Martin.” He said, facing her now. “What’s yours?”

 “This is my room.” The girl said, a shimmering mirror in hand and her arms crossed. “Thought you said you knew I wasn’t going to be here.”

 “They didn’t tell me your name.” Martin said rolling his eyes. The officer part wasn’t a lie at least.

 “Okay.” The girl said, she nodded as if she believed him. “Fine. We’ll start simple.” She smirked, tapping the shimmering mirror against her crossed arm. “The name’s Elli Triad.”

 “Justice girl.” Martin said with a laugh. “Who would’ve thought.”

 “Justice girl?” She questioned, now looking a slight bit aggravated from the nickname.

 “It’s what the people on the streets call you. You’ve saved quite a bit of my kind from falsely accused murders.” Martin smirked. “You also prevented homicides and sometimes petty crimes like accusing the homeless for stealing.”

 Elli shrugged. “Yea. It’s what I do.” She said, but Martin could tell her thoughts were somewhere else. “But please, call me Elli.”

 Martin nodded. “A lot of people would like to thank you for what you’ve done, Justice Girl.”

 This time, Elli shot a glare at Martin. “You make me sound like a superhero and if I’ve learned anything in the past year it’s that I’m not.” Her voice was sharp and slashed out at Martin.  

 “Whoa there, Justice-”

 “Elli.” Elli frowned, hand now tighter on her mirror.

 “Okay so you don’t like your nickname we gave you.” Martin shrugged. “But it’s not like we don’t appreciate you. What the matter, Elli. Why don’t you seem as inspirational as I imaged?”

 The face that people had imagined her made Elli feel uncomfortable but she knew she had to be strong.

 “And what’s with the mirror?” Martin asked. “It’s like shimmering. Mirrors don’t do that unless you have some cool light effects that you’d like to share with me.”

 “Wait.” Elli said, now realizing that she still had the mirror in her hand. “You can see the mirror? And the fact that it’s shimmering?”

 “Is that not natural?” Martin questioned, figuring that it wasn’t but made the comment anyway.

 “Mortals, can’t see through the mist.” Elli replied, looking directly at Martin now. “You’re not a normal mortal, are you?”

Throwing up his hands Martin shook his head. “Whoa, now all I asked you was about your mirror. That doesn’t mean I’m not human. I mean, I thought I was this whole time?” He questioned suddenly sending mirrors Elli’s way.

 “You’ve been able to see monsters, that aren’t weather catastrophes. You’ve ran from things that other people can’t see and they found you crazy for it. You lost someone-” Elli started to go off as she had with Nico de Angelo.

 “Stop!” Martin said, fear filled in his eyes. “Please don’t mention her.” He said, holding back something in his voice. “I tried to save her.”

 Suddenly, Elli snapped back into reality. “Sorry…” She sighed. “It’s hot wired, I can’t control it sometimes.” Giving Martin a moment of silence, Elli added. “It’s not your fault.”

 “I couldn’t save her because I wasn’t strong enough.” Martin said, his fist balled. “And if what you say is true then why couldn’t I do something about it?”

 Elli shook her head. “I’ve looked at your memory. If you didn’t do what you did neither of you would be alive, or worse, she’d be alive and you wouldn’t. I hate to say this but the truth is the truth. She was meant to die.”

 A cold hard look came from Martin, then his fist retracted into loose hands. “I suppose you’re right.” He said, now realizing what Elli had said before. “I thought you couldn’t look at my memories?”

 “Something prevented me from doing so.” Elli replied. “But you wanted me to know, deep down inside you wanted to share it with me and that’s how they became clear to me. The truth can hide but not from me.”

 “Does it have to do with that mirror of yours?” Martin asked, nodding his head at the mirror.

 “Yes.” Elli said, now setting it on the desk as she sat down in the chair. “I am the daughter of Aletheia, the Goddess of truth.”

 “And I thought you were the one who said you didn’t want to be a superhero.” Martin said, nodding his head.

 “You believe me.” Elli said with a smirk, not bothering to think to herself.

 “If what you say is true.” Martin sighed. “Then what am I, can’t you tell?”

 Elli shook her head. “Even you do not understand and that is why I cannot tell you. I can’t tell you what you and I do not know.”

 “Sounds about right.” Martin said then looked up at Elli. “So is that why you can tell when people are lying or what not?”

 A sigh left Elli’s lips then she nodded. “Yea. But there had to be a reason why we crossed paths on my quest.” She said, running her hand down the edge of the mirror. “So would you like to join me in the morning or are we going to leave this place without a trace of existence?”

 Martin looked at Elli in confusion. “I’m not exactly good luck.”

 “Knowing the truth isn’t good luck.”

 Shrugging, Martin smirked. “I don’t suppose I get a cool sidekick name like do I?”

 “If we figure out what you are exactly then maybe I’ll come up with something.” Elli smiled.

 “I’m holding you to that, Justice Girl.” Martin grinned, making Elli roll her eyes.

January Schedule

Sundays:
Revelation of Dragons 2016 10:00AM PST

Revelation of Dragons '14&'15 12:00PM PST

Monday:
 Research and Review Links 10:00AM PST

Tuesays:
Any change in the schedule/ notices 10:00AM PST

Wednesday:
One Shots (If Any)

Thurdays:
 Personal Notes 10:00AM PST
(Thoughts on Stories, any comments on anything else posted)

Friday:
 The Descendant II 2:00PM PST

(Percry Jackson Fanfiction/Greek&Roman Mythology)

4:00PM PST
The Descendant


Saturday:
Featured Stories 11:00AM
(A day to my followers and friends read their work.
The title will suggest if it is a dragon story of not)

--
Scheduled

Revelation of Dragons 2015

The Descendant

III. Week Two: Mystery

January 2012

 Structure. What path can one take without guidance? In a crowd, how easy is it to spot those who disappear? Or is it all about perspective, how much power does one have in seeing what may or may not be in front of them?

 At dusk, a shadow disappeared into the night once again to merge with the darkness. At dawn, it would reappear, in another city, as another unknown trying to find peace. Around it, the sounds of the night brought forth themselves. For this particular shadow, these sounds gave it a home.

--

 A young spirit. Hopeful, loving, caring, and kind. Although, powerless. Grazing their hand against the tree of the forest it yearned for an image. Silence. Eyes closed, the spirit continued to search, it would take time but it would find what it was looking for, a lost spirit. A mere shadow, but one of value.

--

 To any man, the world seemed vast but to this man, the world was a vision. In the daylight, there was the illusion of safety and in the night, there were visions. The difference? Visions were aspects in the world that only he could see. He had yet to meet anyone who could see the world though his eyes and it worried him. How could people live without seeing the truth that lied in front of them?

 In books, these ‘visions’ were called monsters, myths, and supernatural. He had run into children and teenagers who believe that these visions were real and as a kid, sometimes he felt secure, knowing that these visions could and sometimes would watch over him in the night. Although now, as an adult these visions became weary and he noted not to make eye contact with any of them.

 He tried to be religious. The bible mentioned these visions after all. But somehow, he couldn’t. God, the Devil, angels, demons. These concepts weren’t exactly what he could see. The works of God and the Devil? Maybe. But he couldn’t grasp the complete reality of it. At times, he wondered why he didn’t approach these visions but then he remembered, he had made friends with one once, and it was gone, it left him, and since then, he didn’t know what to think.

 What had this vision been? Other this his friend? He tried not to think about it. After all, the vision wasn’t always clear with its intentions. Now, at age twenty eight he found himself in the library again, picking up where he had left off that life.

 Books scattered around his personal desk, a laptop open, a notebook to the side, and a lukewarm coffee to his right he sat there in thought. Where to start again? He wasn’t sure. But he did know, this was a part of him, but he also reminded himself, this was a hobby and this was why he could keep himself in a relationship.

 On the outside, an illusion occurred. People thought having a PhD could define life, but he felt his life wasn’t complete and always found himself going back to the books that he swore he never would pick up again and would one day, burn. Flipping through his notes, the man’s eyes directed to each highlight part on the pages. Before him, ‘fictional’ stories tried to educate him on information already knew.

 Frustrated, the man stood, turned away from his desk and paced the room. There had to be another way, a way he hadn’t approached yet on these ‘visions’. Looking out the window, he watched as faces disappeared and reappeared on the streets. Going to churches wouldn’t help. Cathedrals scared him. What could he do?

 Thoughts scattered in his head as he continued to pace, leaving one thought separate from the others. Approach. The thought was insane. As a kid, he tried once, but even after his vision

friend left him he hadn’t been able to approach any of the visions. No matter where he went.

 They all seemed afraid or distant. Some knew he was there, watching them, so they’d disappear. Others, glared. And some, stared back. But none approached him, and he didn’t approach them. All it ever came down to was a haunting starring contest which would end with one of them leaving the other.

 Maybe it was time for him to try. Or, maybe he could track them, after all, he could seem them. They could see him, and tended to ignore him, so maybe, with different approach, he could represent himself and maybe even, make another friend.

 At the door was a light knock. Glancing over at his desk, the man shrugged and turned away to reveal his visitor. Cracking the door open, the man stood with a fraction of his body visible. On the side, a young teen stood, looking at the man in amazement. For a long while, the two starred to the point where the man could see, a slight flicker in the teen’s image. Nodding, the man cleared his throat, and spoke.

 “Can I help you?” He asked, trying not to scare the boy away.

 At first, the boy stared into the man’s eyes, not sure what to think of the question. As if the boy didn’t know if the man could help but wanted him to. Finally, the boy looked at the man with serious eyes. “You’re noisy.” He said, then waited for the man to reply.

 Noisy? The man thought of his apartment and what noise could distract any of his neighbors at three in the morning but there wasn’t any. All that seemed to making noise was the refrigerator and the occasional shuffle of books. Then the occurred to him, he was pacing. But from what he had observed, his steps were quiet if not silent. Staring back at the boy, the man looked at him confusion.

 “May I ask how?” He questioned, noting the boy was flicking now and then.

 The boy shrugged, “I don’t understand it myself.” He said quietly, partly to himself. “But I can hear you thinking. And it’s noisy.” He said, pointing to his own head. “I remember you at the library quite a bit, you’d take books that I wanted to read sometimes. But now, all I want to do is sleep and yet…” He paused. “All I can hear is you.”

 This wasn’t a normal occurrence to the man since he had never approach one of the visions. Nevertheless be approached by a ‘vision’. Yet, here he was, talking to one, one that could hear him when he was silent yet exploding all at once. Staring at the boy. the man tried to place him, he mentioned the library, did he ever see him?

 What type of vision could this boy be, to be able to read his mind, and approach him. How could the boy, one he could remember be attached to him? Then it clicked. An article. An ominous day, one that he couldn’t place until now.

 “Joseph.” The man said, full of disbelief.

 “Yea.” The teen shrugged. “Glad you remember?” He smirked.

 “How is this possible…?” He questioned, knowing fully well that it was possible, but only to him. If anyone were to pass in the hall, he would be talking to no one. After all, Joseph was a memory.

 “Have you forgotten?” He asked. “I live two floor below you. You used to let me borrow those books you checked out since we fought over them so much. I wondered why you were keeping them to yourself. But I didn’t want to ask you because you seemed so concentrated on other things.”

 Standing in silence, the man nodded, “Why don’t you come in, Joseph, maybe we can catch up?”

 “On everything you’ve been thinking about?” Joseph asked. “How I died but I’m here?” He questioned. “I’m not dead, Mr. Maxwell. You can see me can’t you?”! He exclaimed, making the room drop in temperature.

 “I can see you.” Maxwell nodded. “Which is why I want you to come in. I’m not doubting that you’re here. You are here, but there has to be another reason. Please Joseph, let me help you.”

 As Joseph sighed, the temperature rose slightly. Nodding silently, he stood waiting for Maxwell to unlock the door. Opening it fully, Maxwell stepped to the side and watched as Joseph stepped in. The boy was flickering but not floating as he thought he would be.

 Annoyed, Joseph turned to Maxwell and glared. “I’m not dead.” He said harshly, hitting Maxwell with an unexplainable force.

 “Let me show you what I believe.” Maxwell said calmly, receiving a hopeless look from Joseph.

 “I can hear you.” Joseph said, tears rolling down his cheeks. “You’re thinking of the article that said I died, that I committed suicide.”

 “But you didn’t.” Maxwell said quickly. “Something else happened that day and I couldn’t figure out what. I looked up all I could for you, Joseph, I mean it. I tried.” He said, pulling out the file he had stashed in his desk with Joseph’s name on it.

 “2006?” Joseph said in a questioning tone then looked over at Maxwell’s laptop. “Your laptop says it’s-”

 “Yes, Joseph it’s 2014. Eight years after your incident.” Maxwell explained, hoping that the boy wouldn’t lose his mind.

  “That’s not possible.” Joseph growled, making the room drop in temperature again.

 “Joseph.” Maxwell said, opening up the obituary. “Tell me what you remember from that night.”

 “I was alive in my dreams…” Joseph started, an amount of discomfort settled in his eyes. “Then this elephant Rhino thing would come and eat everything around him, including me.” He said, shaking of his nerves. “Your article said I was in a comma.”

 “You were.” Maxwell nodded, remembering the times that he would go see the boy.

 “I saw you.” Joseph said with a smirk. Up until that night, you showed up to read to me before returning those books.”

 Maxwell smirked. “I did. But do you remember what caused you to go unconscious?”

 Shaking his head, Joseph shrugged. “I only remember the dreams. Sometimes it would a lion but the same result would occur, I’d be eaten along with everything that I was dreaming about, good or bad.”

 “You had gotten a fever at first.” Maxwell said as he turned to the records that he acquired.

 “We’re not family, how did you-?” Joseph questioned at the sight of the hospital record.

 “You were in a coma for quite a while kid, your family appreciated my visits so when I asked for your records to solve why you were the way you were, they didn’t question me.” Maxwell smirked.

 “The doctors healed you from your fever but for some reason you continued to be unconscious, your vitals were perfectly normal, but they couldn’t understand why you couldn’t wake up. But when I read to you, up until the end…” Maxwell sighed. “You’d mind would process the stories but that’s all you would respond to.”

 Joseph blushed, “In my dreams I’d go through different adventures, meeting different myths or supernatural things that I guess you read about but in the end, when you’d stop reading, the lion of the elephant would come to eat them away…” He muttered.

 “But at one point you became visible to me.” Joseph continued, “The dream would continue so I’d be there in the dream but I’d watch you read to me.”

 “You saw me reading to you?” Maxwell asked more to himself than Joseph.

 “But according to the footage you got up once, told the nurse you were feeling fine, and then they found you breathless in your hospital bed. Since the doctors couldn’t explain it they lied that you committed suicide.” Maxwell frowned. “I never believed it for one second, after all, you did respond to my voice so you were alive.”

 Grazing his hand on the folder, Joesph thought hard, attempting to pick one a the papers up but instead passing through it. Biting his lip, Joseph sighed. “So I am…?”

 “Yes.” Maxwell sighed, thinking of the last time he had visited the boy’s grave. “But that doesn’t mean you’re not alive in other people.” He smiled.

The Descendant II: Week Two: Golden Eyes

 In the distance, Court spoke with someone. Sitting on a bench not far, Lance sat quietly next to Alex who clearly didn’t like the situation they were in. Why is he talking to that guy? Who is he? Does he know Court? How does he know Court? Does Court even know where he’s going? Why aren’t you answering any of my questions? Lance? Lance?!

 Lane glanced over at Alex and sighed. “It’s Lane, Alex and I don’t know. I trust Court knows what he’s doing and if he doesn’t. Well…” He shrugged. “I know how to live on my own and return to camp, what about you?”

 “What if we don’t need to go on this quest?” Alex questioned, watching as Court returned to them.

 “A God showed up and said we were to be on this quest, Alex, I’m positive that we’re supposed to be here.”

 Alex frowned and crossed her arms as Court came into speaking range. “Who was that guy?”! She started and before she could continue Court’s eyes turned golden, making Alex’s do the same. Eyes turning back to brown, Court sighed, and looked at Lane.

 “Did she ever tell you who she legacy to or daughter of?”

 Lane shook his head. “No.” He said as he glanced back at Alex who’s eyes turned back to light green. “May I ask how you did that?”

 Court shrugged. “I’d settle for a thank you instead.”

 Receiving a nod, Lance agreed then stood. Beside him, Alex stood silently.  “Where to?”

 “Our opponent has a tracking device on her and Alex here knows how to activate that tracking device actually.” Court said, glancing back at Alex.

 “I do?” Alex said, then shook her head. “Oh yea! Of course I do.” She grinned. “Why didn’t you say so?”!

 Raising an eyebrow, Lane gestured for her to take the lead. “Then what are you waiting for?” He questioned.

 “I was waiting for Court’s permission, duh!” She grinned, sending a helpless look then returned to her ecstatic one. Facing Court, Alex cleared her throat. “Our opponent was last spotted in New York!” She exclaimed with a big smile. “We should probably head there!”

 “Excellent.” Court said, keys jingling in his hand. “Then let us go.”

 Shooting a look of concern at Alex, Lane met Court’s eyes. “None of us are old enough to drive.”

 “Who said we were?” Court shrugged. “That humble man over there decided that we could borrow his car for this trip so I don’t see why we don’t take this as an opportunity.”

 “Court.” Lane said, looking at the keys in concern. Behind him, a man appeared with a boy. “Did I hear that you kids needed a driver?”

 “Ah, Blake. It’s nice to see you again.” Court smiled, gesturing for the two to follow. Allowing Alex to get ahead of them, Court slowed to meet Lane’s steps. “Do you have a problem with the way I’m getting this quest done, soldier?”

 “No.” Lane said, not meeting Court’s eyes. “But I have a feeling you know more than you’re letting us in on.” Lane frowned. “I don’t mind working with you but if I do work with you I need to know more details. An example would be what you did to Alex.” Pausing, he stood in front of the open door looking at Alex then added. “But I’ll let that slide for now, sir.”

 Court nodded then got in on the passenger side. “Glad to see we’re on the same side, Lane. Now where did you say we were going, Alex?”

 “New York!” She said cheerfully, reaching for Lane’s hand across the seat. Meeting Alex’s eyes, Lane looked at her in confusion.

 Taking out his wallet, Lane opened it to show Alex a picture of his girlfriend. Shaking her head, she continued to hold out her hand. Uncomfortably, Lane lightly took her hand in his, feeling a rushing pain shock through his body.

 “Everything alright back there?” Court asked before turning to meet Lane’s golden eyes. He was sitting in the middle seat holding Alex’s hand. Nodding quietly, Lane replied. “Yes, sir.”

 “Don’t you have a girlfriend, Gutav?” He asked, now looking forward with a grin.

 “I do.” Gutav replied, squeezing Alex’s hand. “But she’ll understand that this is friendly.”

 Court smirked. “I hope so. I don’t want to have to explain to her any trouble.” He said, looking at the driver who was grinning as well.

 “I have to say Mr. Court, you’re quite the genius.” He smiled.

 Shaking his head, Court smirked. “I don’t hold the credit my kind, sir. There was already a plan in motion, all I am is to insure success.”

 The man nodded. “Although we will have to take bathroom breaks. New York is quite a ways.”

 Court nodded. “I understand. I’m sure the other two will need to do their thing as well. It’s a matter of how much will they have left at the end of this.” He said only loud enough for the man to hear.

 “I see. Friends of yours?” He gestured with his shoulder to point at the two in the back seat.

 “Acquaintances.” Court replied. “But I’m sure they’re good people.” He shrugged. “It wouldn’t exactly be easy if I brought along Frank Zhang for example.”

 “Ares would not happy with us, no.”

 “Exactly.” Court smirked. “I am a bit concerned about Diana but overall I have confidence in these two.”

 “That’s good to hear.” The man smirked. “Although, do you know who the real enemy is?” He asked, meeting Court’s eyes.

 “My mother speaks and I obey.” Court replied. “No questions required. I am my mother’s son.”

 The man nodded then returned his eyes to the road. Court frowned at the remark. Who would doubt his mother, especially one of her disciples? Turning back to Lane and Alex Court smirked. “I’m sure this quest has it’s time. Is there anywhere you two would like to stop by on the way up there?”

 Lane smirked. “There are a couple of parks on the way up there. Could we check out at least one of them?”

 Court nodded. “Sure, Lane, it’s the least we can do.” He said then turned to the man. “You can choose when we stop.”